Oriental Studies最新文献

{"title":"Названия родовых групп тувинцев","authors":"Lyubov S. Kara-ool, Igor V. Kormushin","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1254-1270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1254-1270","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. In recent decades, Tuvans have shown an increasing interest in their clan/tribal histories contained in state archival documents or memoirs of their ancestors preserved in family files. Goals. The article seeks to explore features of names adopted by Tuvan clan/tribal (subethnic) groups. To facilitate this, the paper shall systematize clan/tribal names in the Tuvan language, investigate clan/tribal identities from ancient times, identify habitats of Tuvan subethnic groups as of the early 20th century, explore peculiarities of subethnic structures, and single out communities closely related to Tuvan ones to be found beyond Tuva’s borders. Materials. The work analyzes Tuvan ethnonyms from publications on the topic of research and field data collected during dialectological and comprehensive research expeditions. Results. Tuvan self-identity is closely associated with subethnic (clan/tribal) origin. The Tuvan language contains names for a total of over forty tribal associations, the latter be further divided into intra-tribal units (clans). Another important self-identity factor is the administrative/territorial one established in the mid-18th century by the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty of China. Our analysis shows the Tuvan ethnogenesis was based mainly on Turkic-speaking components, however, one can still trace Mongolic, Samoyed, Ket, and Tungus elements therein. Quite a number of clan/tribal names are distributed not only in the territory of Tuva, but also beyond its borders, which attests to common origins of many Turkic-speaking communities. A significant part of Tuvan ethnonyms remain virtually unexplored to date, therefore, those require deeper insights.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89152655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Этническая антропология тувинцев: история и перспективы развития. Часть 1","authors":"Elena A. Vagner-Sapukhina, Denis V. Pezhemsky","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1308-1324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1308-1324","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The history of Tuva’s anthropological study dates back almost a century, and interest in this region never faded to date. In this regard, there is a need to summarize all related research publications, clarify the periodization of stages in the study of Tuvan physical anthropology. Goals. The work primarily aims to summarize all collected data on anthropological appearances of Tuvans and identify problem areas in this topic, as well as prospects for further research. Part One shall introduce a step-by-step history of the study of Tuvan physical anthropology, with due regard of the development of biological anthropology in Russia. Results. The paper provides a detailed analysis of ethnic anthropology results comprising head, face and physique measurements and descriptive data, dental and dermatoglyphic parameters. Data from a number of anthropological systems make it possible to determine the place of Tuvans among Siberian Mongoloids, delineate some local variants within the population of Tuva. Conclusions. Despite there is a most detailed anthropological description of Tuvans, some aspects of their intra-group differentiation remain unresolved — especially taking into account the existing tribal subdivision — just like the case with the formation of Tuvan anthropological appearances during the medieval era and modern times, which sets new vectors for further research of Tuva’s population.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74779246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Башкирская рукопись «Усерган таварихы»","authors":"Gulnara Kh. Abdrafikova, Ilshat S. Igdavletov","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1325-1332","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1325-1332","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. Bashkortostan is one of Russia’s major center of Arabic-script publications and manuscripts. The latter include quite a number of handwritten documents that contain valuable material on the history of the region. The article examines one of such texts — an understudied historical document titled ‘Usergan Tavarikhy’. Goals. The work aims to provide a brief review of the manuscript’s content and focuses on data directly related to Bashkir history. Materials. The paper analyzes one anonymous Arabic-script Turki-language manuscript of Usergan Tavarikhy stored at Ufa Federal Research Centre (Scientific Library, Rare Book Section). Results. The anonymous source proves quite rich in material describing most important periods in the history of the region. The author tends to focus on external factors that had had their impacts on Bashkir history, such as the spread of Islam, Mongol invasion and embassy to Genghis Khan, relations with Nogais under the rule of the Nogai Horde, and the beginnings of Russia’s period. The document begins with legends about saints and prophets. A significant part of the manuscript deals with genealogies of the Golden Horde rulers introduced in the form of diagrams and supplemented with comments. Conclusions. The Usergan Tavarikhy manuscript is certainly a valuable historical source that examines not only the past of Bashkirs but rather covers far more extensive geographic areas. And despite the document is widely known as ‘tawarikh’, its content makes it closer to the historical and functional genre of tarikhname.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"157 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87562030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Кризис урбанизации в Магаданской области (конец 1980-х – 2010-е гг.): динамика структурных и демографических показателей","authors":"Anatoliy S. Breslavsky","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1227-1243","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1227-1243","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The analysis of urbanization processes experienced by Magadan Oblast in recent decades is a most important component in understanding essentials and peculiarities of the urbanization agenda in the whole of Russia’s Far East. Historical experiences of the region attest to that urbanization processes across the eastern economic regions of Russia are highly dependent on actual conditions and prospects of mining industries, presence / absence of paternalism in policies of federal and regional authorities towards urban settlements that show no promise for further industrial development. So, mining and government support have deepest impacts on urbanization processes in Magadan Oblast. Goals. The study aims at analyzing key results of the Soviet urbanization program across Magadan Oblast, certain structural and demographic transformations of the region’s urban settlement network that took place in the 1990s to 2010s. Materials and methods. The work employs a set of general scientific tools, the statistical method, and those of specifically historical research (e.g., the chronological one) — for analytical insights into official statistics, national, regional and local regulations. Results. The study shows the urbanization crisis in the region is associated with its deindustrialization in the 1990s–2000s. The decline of the entire urban settlement network has manifested itself in both structural and demographical patterns. Two cities of the region — Magadan and Susuman — have experienced significant population losses, though still retaining their ‘city’ status. Meanwhile, 15 out of 34 urban-type settlements had been abandoned or abolished by the early 2020s. The policy of abolishing depressed settlements has been developed in the region, which is supported by federal and regional programs that facilitate resettlement — from districts of the Extreme North and rural localities to the capital city of Magadan. The urban population has reduced by 58.6 % during the mentioned period, while the dramatic rural population decrease of 90 % means that the region’s internal urbanization resources are almost completely exhausted. Conclusions. Urbanization prospects in the region are primarily tied to somewhat further development of Magadan and its agglomeration, the latter to include two near-capital districts in the south. At the same time, new projects of economic development in the region are increasingly associated with activities of shift workers’ townships.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"51 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72460003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Тувинский язык в образовании: вопросы витальности языка","authors":"Sayzana S. Tovuu","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1389-1400","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1389-1400","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The article examines the functioning of Tuvan in the educational system from a historical perspective throughout the 20th–21st centuries. The work analyzes language development endeavors as part of Tuva’s educational policy, summarizes outcomes of sociological surveys for actual attitudes of Tuvan speakers to their native language as a value. Goals. The paper aims to show the importance of the educational system as a key sphere for language vitality. Materials and methods. The analyzed data were obtained from the research projects as follows: ‘Tuvan for Children’ — a regional educational project attended by a total of 52,186 individuals since 2019 (2019–2020 — 22,931; 2021–2022 — 29,255); and ‘Traditional Family Values in Spiritual and Moral Education of Children and Youth in the Tyva Republic’ — a scientific project to have involved 2,083 respondents in 2022, and aiming to determine whether the latter view their native (Tuvan) language as a value. Results. Outcomes of three monitoring surveys show a year-on-year increase in the number of pre-school children that learn Tuvan and a sufficient language proficiency level of theirs. The study attests to that native language is viewed as a value of the ethnos, and it is family that contributes most to its preservation. Conclusions. In a historical perspective, native language teaching has played a significant role in the educational system’s shaping as such. The actual state support for native languages of the Republic manifested in official languages development programs has significantly facilitated the emergence of additional opportunities for native (Tuvan) language teaching and learning in educational institutions.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91005611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Названия неба в монгольских языках: этимология и семантика","authors":"A. V. Dybo, Viktoria V. Kukanova, S. Mirzaeva, Evgeny V. Bembeev, V. N. Mushaev, Vyacheslav N. Khoninov","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1333-1351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1333-1351","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The articles examines etymologies and semantics of Mongolic words denoting the sky. The system of astronomical terms in Mongolic languages is structurally complicated due to multiple layers of pre-Buddhist, Buddhist and other beliefs adopted by proto-Mongols. Goals. The work aims to identify etymological and semantic dominants characterizing this thematic group within the common Mongolic vocabulary. The concept of sky clusters with most basic ones, and lexemes to denote it are to be found in each and every language. Materials and methods. The study examines dictionaries of Mongolic languages, involves reliable proto-Mongolian lexical reconstructions by H. Nugteren and O. Mudrak. Furthermore, the paper analyzes various etymological works and Altaic dictionaries, as well as databases on semantic transitions and colexifications. Results. The Mongolic vocabularies contain four lexemes denoting the sky and two for air/airspace — all of them being largely associated with different beliefs and faiths across different areas and in different eras. So, the word *teŋgeri attests to some elements of the cult of heaven had been practiced by earliest Mongols and the latter had maintained contacts with Turkic groups. The second lexeme *hogtorgui is a Buddhist scholarly term semantically derived from the one denoting emptiness, i.e. a suggested semantic calque from the Sanskrit word that was borrowed to northern Mongolic languages from translated texts of the Buddhist Canon. The third name *köke is a hapax from the Muqaddimat al-Adab that may have arrived in western Middle Mongolian from Chagatai Turkic. The fourth word *asman is a later borrowing from Persian to vocabularies of Muslim Mongols, sometimes via Turkic languages. The fifth lexical unit *agaɣar may have been included from Buddhist Sanskrit, and the sixth word *kei — from Middle Chinese. The unexpected conclusion is that the original proto-Mongolian word to have denoted the sky simply cannot be reconstructed. Evidently, the ancient word had been displaced by the loanwords throughout most intensive cultural contacts.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"140 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80743556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Историко-этнографические аспекты тувинской женской наплечной одежды «эдектиг тон»","authors":"Rolanda B. Khovalyg","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1293-1307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-64-6-1293-1307","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The article examines the women’s shoulder garment edektig ton from historical and ethnographic perspectives. The mutual dependence between material and spiritual cultures results in that edektig ton — via a number of its elements, such as textiles and manufacturing technology, design patterns, ornaments and symbols, terminology and worldview beliefs — consistently preserves valuable data and meanings pertaining to history and ethnography. Goals. The study attempts a historical/ethnographic insight into the women’s shoulder garment edektig ton to identify its peculiarities, semiotics and differences typical for various Tuvan clans, including to understand why it is sometimes referred to as ‘terlik ton’ (lit. ‘luxurious ton’), or ‘derlig ton’ (lit. ‘sweaty ton’) across Tuvan tribal groups. The fact the issue remains understudied and young Tuvans show an increased interest in their material culture make the study relevant and timely enough. Results. The article analyzes a set of historical and ethnographic materials dealing with edektig ton, namely: writings by researchers of Tuva, museum items and field data, including ones collected during the expedition for comprehensive ethnogenetic and linguoanthropological research into Tuva’s tribal groups conducted from 27 September to 15 October 2022 with the financial support from Russian Science Foundation. The paper reveals additional names for this Tuvan women’s garment may vary, traces a genesis of the latter’s details, identifies one of its previous forms — ibchi ton — which is similar enough to Khakass patterns. Conclusions. The article delineates ethnogenetic and ethnocultural ties between edektig ton of Tuvans and clothes of other ethnic groups, and introduces some peculiarities of its terminology.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84546193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Междисциплинарный подход к изучению этногенеза: геногеография и филогеография тувинских родовых групп","authors":"Larissa D. Damba, VYu Pylev, Elena V. Balanovska","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1064-1076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1064-1076","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. The territory of South Siberia has historically been a crossroads of ancient migration routes. So, the complex process of ethnogenesis across the region requires multidisciplinary insights of historians, ethnographers, anthropologists, linguists, and geneticists. Goals. The work aims to substantiate the possibility of a comprehensive study of Tuvan tribal groups on the basis of the latter’s gene pools and structures. Materials and methods. The most efficient tool thereto is the Y chromosome since it is inherited — like the clan/tribal name proper — paternally, has a high variety, makes it possible to reconstruct migration waves, and may yield genetic dates. These properties of the Y chromosome make it an additional historical source within comprehensive ethnographic, historical, linguistic, anthropological, and genetic studies of ancestral groups among peoples to have retained the memory of clan/tribal structures. Results. The early 21st century has witnessed an intensive research of the Tuvan Y-chromosomal gene pool — with no sufficient data on corresponding tribal groups mentioned. The analysis of Tuvan tribal structures is complicated by a number of factors, such as the administrative/territorial system of the Qing Empire in Tuva (1757–1912), introduction of a passport system in Tuva (1945–1947) when not clan/tribal names but rather personal ones were registered as surnames, and an increase in unmarried cohabitation that violates the patrilineal system. Y-chromosomal analyses of the largest Tuvan tribal groups Mongush and Oorzhak show that the bulk of their gene pool are North Eurasian haplogroups (N*, N1a2, N3a, Q) associated with the autochthonous population of the area nowadays inhabited by Tuvans. At the same time, Central Asian haplogroups (C2, O2) make up less than a fifth (17 %) of the gene pool. A targeted analysis of the most frequent branch (C2a1a2a2a2-SK1066) of the Central Asian haplogroup C2 shows it had originated about 900 years ago in the territory of Northeast Mongolia, and thus could not have reached Tuva before the 11th–12th centuries AD. Anthropological data also attest to the late admixture of the Central Asian cluster into the Tuvans and their tribal groups. The North Eurasian haplogroups completely dominate within the gene pool of tribal groups Kol, Oyun, and Khertek, which results in that the share of Central Asian lineages drops to 3%. Conclusions. In general, the paper shows the Mongolian expansion had no essential genetic impacts on the Y-chromosomal gene pool of Tuvan tribal groups, but — in contrast — did overwhelmingly influence ethnocultural, economic, and linguistic spheres.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75131133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Swords from Sauromato–Sarmatian Burial Mounds of Western Kazakhstan Analyzed","authors":"B. Sizdikov, A. Seraliyev","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1110-1125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1110-1125","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. In Eurasia’s history and archeology, the issues of origins, inhabited territories, and political history of Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes remain understudied.  Archaeological data are supplemented with messages on Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes contained in works of ancient writers, since no written sources have been found in monuments of those tribes proper. Goals. The study aims to analyze historical sources and archaeological data, examine the history of origins of Sauromato-Sarmatian tribes to have inhabited the Southern Uralsin the Iron Age,and focuses on swords from Sauromato-Sarmatian monuments of Western Kazakhstan. Materials. Swords and daggers that constitute the bulk of finds from burials provide valuable information for determining chronologies of burial grounds or certain burials and identifying areas once inhabitedby the nomadic tribes,with regional features of those tribes be duly distinguished. A. Melyukova, K. Smirnov, A. Khazanov, E. Chernenko, A. Simonenko, P. Shulga, V. Kocheev and other researchers have developed a chronological typology for swords and daggers from monuments of nomadic tribes of the Northern Black Sea, the North Caucasus, and other regions. However, Sauromato-Sarmatian weapons from Western Kazakhstan have remained unstudied without any chronological typology developed. So, the work employs experiences of the above-mentioned researchers and systematizes the available and newlyobtained data to develop a typological classification and chronology of swords from Sauromato-Sarmatian burial grounds excavated in the territory of Western Kazakhstan. Results. The paper notes that the Sauromato-Sarmatians descend from Bronze Age populations to have created the Andronovo and Srubnaya cultures, and had a close relationship with the Saka tribes. It is deemed that Sarmatian tribes were formed on the basis of Sauromatians, i.e. those had had common roots. Furthermore, insights into archaeological data conclude the tribes had lived in the territory of Western Kazakhstan, yield a typological classification of swords discovered in mounds across the region, and result in a scientific analysis. The work attempts a statistical analysis of swords and daggers from Sauromato-Sarmatian mounds of Western Kazakhstan, provides scientific conclusions as to predominant types of weapons and manufacturing technologies. The article also highlights some specific features of sword types identified, areas of distribution, and performs a comparative analysis.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81535154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Буддийские коллекции Астраханского музея-заповедника как исторический источник по изучению истории и культуры калмыцкого народа","authors":"Margarita D. Karueva, Viktoria V. Kukanova","doi":"10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1022-1049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-63-5-1022-1049","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction. Museum items tend to arouse significant research interest since they make it possible to trace household activities inherent to a certain community, i.e. aspects of life usually overlooked by archival documents. Astrakhan Reserve Museum houses an authentic collection of Buddhist icons examined in the present study. Goals. The paper attempts an analysis of Kalmyk dartsigs (Buddhist icons) as a source for historical and ethnographic research. Materials and methods. The ‘Kalmyk’ Collection of Astrakhan Reserve Museum numbers over 220 items, including 49 dartsigs. The work analyzes 48 icons, since dartsig 49 is attributed to the modern tradition and has no authentic value. The employed research methods are the historical/genetic, statistical, descriptive, anthropological ones, that of comparative analysis and others. The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach instrumental in providing multifaceted insights. Results. The shaping of the ‘Kalmyk’ Collection took place in the prerevolutionary and Soviet periods. The cultural artifacts were collected and donated to the Museum for a number of reasons, the primary one having been that members of Peter the Great Society for the Study of Astrakhan Land were seeking to preserve cultural heritage of peoples to have inhabited the region, lest the latter should be destroyed by the Soviets or lost in the swirl of history. Our comparisons of the current ‘Kalmyk’ Collection and other sources yield a list of certain Buddhist images that have been lost and are still of great scholarly interest. The well preserved thangkas without passe-partouts had been purposely painted and passed to Peter the Great Society, the poorly preserved ones with traces of soot had once been used in homes of Kalmyk commoners, while the larger and fine images are likely to have been attributes of Buddhist temples or estates of wealthy Kalmyks. The analysis of passe-partouts attests to that Kalmyks were actually handling the icons with utmost veneration, which is evident enough in the qualities of textiles the former were sewn from.","PeriodicalId":36786,"journal":{"name":"Oriental Studies","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82361978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}